Poker in the Tower on the Hill

A toke in te Tai Tokerau

Your special correspondents Xav "El Grande Heresiarca" and Greg "Dapper Dan" go the extra mile to penetrate the mysteries of the Por Larranaga Panatela, in another exotic location.

In a Marxist-tinged summary, one could say that we enjoyed a grunty cedar, cocoa and coffee grind base with cocoa on the ascendant... enhanced with an incisive orange peel, cinnamon, and harissa (or perhaps cayenne pepper) superstructure. Put all this together and you have a two course moroccan dinner washed down with turkish coffee. So where Henry Clay found peace, we found a taste of the Middle East... in Por Larranaga. For such a small, relatively young (2-3 years old) cigar, it really was rich and intriguing. It really is such a shame that many of them are stricken with tight draws and knots at the top (around the band). 

Fortunately, this one was gastronomic poetry in motion... proving once again that sitting down and concentrating on a good cigar is food for the mind, the soul, and the 6 senses. Tihei mauri ora!!!

Daze bay in El hoyo de Monterrey

Bryan hiccuping on a San cristobal

Bryan "El principe" F nubbing it on my deck in the rain

March-April - El Montecristo numero Dos batch

This is basically the perfect box of Monte no.2s, but only 2 years old (FEB12) - tried one a year ago and they were not ready then so I put them away until now... are they ready or do they need another couple of years? You tell me!

El Batch:

Cohiba Clubs: as pictured in the recent "google + hangout", these tiny cigarillos will reward you on a 10min coffee break as long as you puff softly and slowly. Anything else and you will burn your tongue. They definitely have the flavour profile of their big brothers

Por Larranaga Panatelas: also pictured in the hangout. Unusual "Veguerito" vitola standing 12.7cm tall but only at a 37 ring gauge - very handy for a 30-40min time out. From a nice box where all of them have lovely wrappers. The last time i had one of these they had machine-made short filler, but are now fully hand rolled in accordance with Habanos change in policy a few years back. 

Cuaba Exclusivos: last of the 2008 box and need to be smoked now. Mild cigar for a lazy weekend afternoon, with a drink of your choosing (preferably alcoholic).

Juan Lopez no.1: 2010 box of Corona Gordas ("fat coronas" ie 14.3cm x 46rg) which started out sweet cream cedar and quickly moved on. I am hoping that by now they have acquired the richness and subtlety that only age can bring.

Montecristo no.2: All hail "the" classic piramide that is perhaps the defining statement of not only the vitola (format) but also the marca (brand). Relatively full in body and rich in character, it has all the trademark Montecristo flavours (if you crossed a no.4, no.5 and Edmundo you'd end up with this). Set aside 1h30 and enjoy... if you can wait, forget it at the bottom of your humidor for a couple more years

Un Hoyo du Gourmet a Akaroa...

A French-themed cigar in a French-themed settlement ... how quaint. These Gourmets from 2011 weren't really that flash young but now coming into their own... Next batch is now available by the way... and includes one of these.

Havana Bar Rendez Vous

One small puff for man

A starry night at Havana bar

RyJ and cricket

Scott got me down for a cigar on beach last night and woke a sleeping dragon - had to have one again tonight after a roast washed down with some good red. Must say that his now well aged Bolivar PC was fantastic, earthy and cedary and rich, didn't want to hand it back after he gave me a puff (we got another box of those waiting for one of our mules by the way).

Anyway so pulled out a Romeo y Julieta PC con porto. Great stuff. My latest thought on it is that it is like inhaling the fumes of a smouldering pepper encrusted wine barrel with burnt cherries on top. Grunty and satisfying, in your face but quite rich for a youngun, especially on the retrohale. Could so easily go with something stronger but i'm on a red grape trip and a nice heavy tawny fits the bill. It's a bit blustery about with our late spring here in Wellyz but this hefty little fella don't seem to mind. Right - thoughts shared, back to the cricket...

I Heart Cohiba Maduro V

Christmas with JFK

H Upmann is one of the oldest cuban marcas going all the way back to its creation in the 1840s by a German banker of the same name. It is also famous for its association with JFK.

A year after the failed CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion, which attempted to topple the post-dictatorial cuban revolution of Fidel, Che et al., the U.S. declared the start of the now 50 year-old embargo on Cuba.

But first, JFK put a little order in for something special, as his press aide Pierre Salinger tells us.

JFK, he said, called him into his office and said he needed 'some help' to find 'a lot of cigars'. He wanted '1,000 Petit Upmanns' and needed them by 'tomorrow morning'.

'The next morning, I walked into my White House office at about 8am, and the direct line from the President's office was already ringing. He asked me to come in immediately.

'How did you do Pierre?' he asked, as I walked through the door. 'Very well,' I answered. In fact, I'd gotten 1,200 cigars. Kennedy smiled, and opened up his desk.

'He took out a long paper which he immediately signed. It was the decree banning all Cuban products from the United States. Cuban cigars were now illegal in our country.'

My guess is that he didn't live long enough to smoke all of those cigars. There could be a morale here about storing up riches but i'll stick to cigars - smoke'em while you still can.

Another footnote is that every time you smoke a habano, you are supposedly taking part in the "subversive offensive of Sino-Soviet communism with which the government of Cuba is publicly aligned" - the 1962 justification of this ongoing embargo.

Anyway, for the record these Petit Upmanns were 108mm*31rg - very civilised - similar to the little Arturo Fuentes in this batch... We have the more opulent H Upmann Magnum 46, a corona gorda that has consistently performed for the marca over the past few years. It delivers all of the medium-bodied woody richness that characterises the brand...

Ye batch (minus a variable cigar or 2):

• Arturo Fuente Cubanitos: like the exquisitos but slightly bigger and with a cameroon wrapper not a maduro one. Does the trick for a short coffee break. 
• San Cristobal El Principe: cedary with a touch of fruit ... drink accordingly (port, sherry etc... not Coruba rum - well at least not until you've ashed your cigar into it and it comes into its own - eh Matt!!)
• Cuaba Exclusivos: distinctly tapered figurado shape, mild after lunch habano from a 2008 box. Start it off with a relatively clean palate for full enjoyment.  
• H Upmann Magnum 46: from memory the rich variety of woods will compliment all sorts. This is a young box so might have an added creamy sweet touch.
• Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro: as reviewed on Scott or Matt's iphone in front of Matt's house a few months ago ... huge, smooth, decadent, chocolatey (yes chocolate not just cocoa)... great all-nicaraguan dessert cigar. In fact probably the most enjoyable nicaraguan puro i've had. Or maybe it was just the company ;-)   

Cuba...

... a random atmospheric video that attempts to capture the mood of the place. The early titles are corny but the imagery is great.

Be prepared for any situation this summer

Rafael Gonzalez Perlas - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

You've got to watch out for these Short Stubby fellas

The pearl in the name would suggest delicate finery, and the lovely colorado maduro shade of wrapper with a nice oily sheen on it might fool you into believing that but... the short stout stubby format is perhaps a better indicator of what's to come.

This is another youthful lil' fella with a Napoleon-style short-man syndrome a la Partagas Short. It will sit you down and shut you up, hopefully with a smile on your face. 

Light it up, take a puff, and as my son would say... "wasssupafamanga!"

It powers into its work instantly, with plenty of cedar, a bit of meaty leather, and a noticeable coffee flavour - the aroma of freshly ground beans or strong espresso. The last cigar i remember with this type of coffee was one of Joel's Cohiba Siglo Is on the shore of lake Wakatipu. The back of the cedar develops a touch of drying pepper. This Perla is clearly of the same lineage as its elder brother the Corona Extra - not as much meat and mushrooms, but these are still present in the background. Plenty of tannins that build up at the end.

Some drink matches for this ... one of those cigars that seems to cope well even with black coffee (very well actually!). A thick caramely malt like Dalmore cigar malt (Greg's mate Harry brought that along to our last heretics trip), or a decently sherried one like an Aberlour might do ... at a stretch its meatiness might enhance a Talisker 10. I'd love to try it with a milky kahlua dessert cocktail...

... Another cigar doco

This doco has the added merit of lasting about as long as your average cigar... so light up and enjoy!